Turkey

The current NATO secretary general steps down on July 31 and his successor is expected to be named at a NATO summit on April 3 and 4. Turkey has not decided whether to back Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the next NATO chief, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said …

Turkey accuses the KRG of not doing enough to crack down on rebels from the Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK). Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul urged the prime minister of Iraq’s largely autonomous Kurdistan region on Tuesday to take a clear position against Kurdish separatist rebels using Iraq as a base to …

NICOSIA, Cyprus – President Demetris Christofias expressed concern on Monday (March 23rd) that election results in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) may harm ongoing reunification talks between the two Cypriot communities.

ANKARA, Turkey – Police arrested a senior military officer Monday (March 23rd) as part of an investigation of alleged killings of Kurds by Turkish security forces in the 1990s. They detained Colonel Cemal Temizoz in the central city of Kayseri, where he commands the local paramilitary gendarmerie.

Police across Turkey have arrested dozens of suspects in the Ergenekon probe over the past year. A Turkish colonel was arrested on Monday in connection with an investigation into alleged extrajudicial killings a decade ago in the mainly Kurdish southeast, Turkish media said. Authorities this month began excavating suspected mass …

ANKARA, Turkey – Police arrested Kamil Atak, former mayor of the south-eastern town of Cizre, as part of a probe into the alleged killings of Kurds by Turkish security forces in the 1990s, media reported on Sunday (March 22nd). Police nabbed him in a raid late Saturday in the province …

ANKARA, Turkey – Media quoted government officials as saying on Sunday (March 22nd) that Turkey may block Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s candidacy for the NATO secretary-general position. Ankara has expressed concerns over Denmark’s previous decision to allow Kurdish Roj TV, often criticised by Turkish authorities for distributing statements …

NICOSIA, Cyprus — EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has called on Turkey to help solve the issue of missing persons in Cyprus, local media reported on Friday (March 20th). Turkey is obliged under a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling to allow for an effective investigation into the fate …

TBILISI – Georgia plans to build a high voltage electricity line to Turkey that will increase its exporting capacity tenfold, according to Sulkhan Zumburidze, director of the state power dispatcher Georgian State Electrosystem. Zumburidze told Reuters on Thursday that the project will cost 220 million euros to complete, and will …

Bulgaria’s former tsar and prime minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg did not rule out joining forces with the ethnic Turks ahead of the general and European Parliament elections in the summer. The NMSP centrist party leader confirmed talks on forming a pre-election coalition with the Turkish DPS are underway just days after …